Paul Skenes struck out nine in six innings on his 22nd birthday as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the host Detroit Tigers, 10-2, in the second game of a doubleheader on Wednesday.
Skenes (2-0), the No. 1 pitching prospect in baseball, allowed two runs and three hits in his fourth major league start. He had two strikeouts apiece in the first two innings and struck out the side in the fourth, relying as much on his splitter as his fastball. The flamethrowing right-hander has a 2.45 ERA, 30 strikeouts and five walks in 22 innings.
Andrew McCutchen blasted a three-run homer in the third inning on his 1,600th hit with the Pirates. McCutchen, who has played for five different teams in 16 years in the major leagues, also doubled and singled while driving in four runs. Nick Gonzales added three hits, including a solo homer, and drove in two runs. Matt Vierling hit his fourth homer in three games for Detroit. Tigers starter Keider Montero, making his major league debut, gave up four runs and five hits while striking out five in 4 1/3 innings.
Yankees 2, Angels 1
Luis Gil gave up just two hits through eight innings, Alex Verdugo homered and New York hung on to beat Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif.
Gil (7-1) allowed only a single to Luis Rengifo in the third inning and a solo homer to Logan O’Hoppe — his sixth of the year — in the seventh on his way to winning his sixth consecutive start.
Gil struck out nine and walked two while making 95 pitches, and at one point retired 11 straight Angels. With Gil out of the game in the ninth, however, the Angels nearly rallied. Los Angeles put runners on first and second with no outs against Yankees closer Clay Holmes, who eventually escaped for his 16th save.
Mariners 2, Astros 1 (10 innings)
J.P. Crawford’s sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning brought home the deciding run as Seattle defeated visiting Houston.
Dominic Canzone homered for the Mariners, who will attempt to sweep the four-game series against their American League West rivals on Thursday afternoon.
Justin Verlander allowed one run on three hits in seven innings. He walked one and matched his season-high with nine strikeouts for the Astros.
Brewers 10, Cubs 6
Christian Yelich, Blake Perkins and Willy Adames each hit a two-run homer and Milwaukee roughed up previously undefeated Shota Imanaga en route to a win over visiting Chicago.
Yelich put the Brewers up 2-0 in the first and Milwaukee added five runs in the third off Imanaga, who entered the contest with a 0.84 ERA. He had allowed a total of five earned runs in his first nine starts. But Imanaga (5-1) was tagged for seven runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings on Wednesday, striking out one and walking one as his ERA climbed to 1.86.
Jared Koenig (5-1) got the win with two innings of scoreless relief.
Dodgers 10, Mets 3
Will Smith hit two homers, including the tiebreaking solo shot in the eighth inning, as visiting Los Angeles beat slumping New York to complete a three-game sweep.
The Dodgers outscored the Mets 18-5 in the series, which was played over a 27-hour span due to a rainout Monday. Smith finished 3-for-5 while Miguel Rojas tied a career-high with four hits and had an RBI single in the eighth.
First baseman Pete Alonso, who leads the Mets with 12 homers, left after being hit on the right hand by a pitch in the first inning. He underwent imaging during the game, and initial examinations didn’t reveal a broken bone. CT scan results are expected Thursday.
Rangers 6, Diamondbacks 1
Dane Dunning threw five scoreless innings and Corey Seager homered and drove in a pair of runs to help lead Texas to a win over Arizona in Arlington, Texas.
Dunning (4-3) allowed just three hits while striking out six and walking four in guiding Texas to its third straight win.
Corbin Carroll went 3-for-5 with an RBI for Arizona, which dropped its third consecutive game. Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson (3-4) pitched six innings of five-hit, four-run ball. He walked three and struck out three.
Nationals 7, Braves 2
Lane Thomas hit a three-run homer and MacKenzie Gore struck out 10 batters to lead visiting Washington to another win over Atlanta. The Nationals have won two of the first three games of the four-game series.
Gore (4-4) pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits and no walks. It was his second double-digit strikeout performance of the season.
Atlanta’s Spencer Schwellenbach (0-1) made his major league debut after being called up from Double-A Mississippi. He began with four scoreless innings but, after Thomas homered with one out in the fifth, finished the inning and then left the game. In five innings he gave up three runs, five hits and one walk and with five strikeouts.
Cardinals 5, Reds 3
Andre Pallante tossed six shutout innings in his first start in two years while Nolan Gorman homered for the second straight game to lead visiting St. Louis over Cincinnati. Pallante (1-1) allowed three hits and struck out four while walking three, running his shutout string as a starter to 17 innings. Ryan Helsley allowed one run in the ninth but managed to force Elly De La Cruz to ground into a game-ending forceout to record his National League-leading 18th save in 19 chances. Masyn Winn had three hits and extended his hitting streak to 18 games. Despite allowing three runs on six hits over six innings, and earning his third quality start of the season, Frankie Montas posted his eighth straight start without a win.
Royals 6, Twins 1
Nelson Velazquez went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs and Kansas City pulled away for a win over Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Salvador Perez doubled, homered and drove in two runs for Kansas City, which snapped a three-game skid. Royals right-hander Seth Lugo (9-1) won his fourth straight start. He allowed one run on six hits in six innings.
Jose Miranda drove in Minnesota’s only run. Willi Castro went 3-for-4 with a double. Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (5-3) gave up six runs on nine hits in five innings.
Phillies 6, Giants 1
Kyle Schwarber sent the fourth pitch of the game over the left-center-field wall, Cristopher Sanchez logged six scoreless innings and Philadelphia salvaged one win in a three-game series against host San Francisco.
Cristian Pache added an RBI single in the second and Nick Castellanos had a two-run homer in the fifth, helping the visitors snapp a season-worst, three-game losing streak. The homers both came off Giants starter Kyle Harrison (4-2), who suffered the first home loss of his career.
Sanchez (3-3) protected the lead with his six innings of shutout ball. He struck out seven, allowing four hits and one walk. Castellanos racked up a single, double, homer, two RBIs and two runs for Philadelphia, which took the season series 5-2.
Marlins 9, Padres 1 Josh Bell collected three of visiting Miami’s 16 hits and Jesus Sanchez homered in a 9-1 rout of San Diego that prevented a three-game sweep. Miami starter Braxton Garrett (2-0) scattered six hits and a run over five innings with no walks and two strikeouts. Four relievers kept San Diego at bay, permitting only two hits and a walk in four scoreless innings, denying the Padres their first three-game home sweep of the season. Yu Darvish (4-3) absorbed his second straight loss, lasting just three innings and allowing six hits. He was charged with three runs (two earned), walked one and struck out two. Donovan Solano was San Diego’s only hitter with two hits.
Orioles 6, Red Sox 1
Gunnar Henderson hit his 18th home run of the season, a grand slam during a five-run second inning as host Baltimore went on to defeat Boston.
Starter Corbin Burnes (5-2) gave up one unearned run in seven innings, allowed three hits and issued three walks while striking out five. The Orioles improved to 5-1 against the Red Sox this year and picked up their sixth victory in their past seven games overall.
The Red Sox were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and produced only six singles in the game. Boston starter Kutter Crawford (2-4) pitched six frames, yielding five runs on four hits. He walked two and fanned five.
Rays 4, Athletics 3
Jose Siri ripped a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to send Tampa Bay past Oakland in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Brandon Lowe also had two hits — a double and a triple — for the Rays, who won for just the second time in their past nine games. Tampa Bay starter Ryan Pepiot fired 5 2/3 innings, yielding two runs on three hits. He fanned seven and walked one.
Oakland’s JJ Bleday went 2-for-4 with a triple and a run, while Miguel Andujar had two hits and two RBIs. A’s starter Joey Estes tossed five innings of one-run ball. Estes gave up two hits, walked two and struck out five.
Tigers 8, Pirates 0 (Game 1)
Matt Vierling hit a three-run homer for a second straight game, Tarik Skubal tossed seven strong innings and host Detroit rolled past Pittsburgh in the first game of a doubleheader.
Vierling, who had three hits and drove in four runs, smacked a game-winning, three-run homer in a 14-11 Detroit victory over Toronto on Sunday. Riley Greene contributed two hits and scored two runs.
Skubal (7-1) limited the Pirates to three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in seven innings. Mason Englert completed the shutout as Detroit won its fourth straight. Pirates starter Jared Jones (3-5) allowed seven runs (five earned) and five hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Rockies 7, Guardians 4
Brendan Rodgers homered in a six-run second inning, Ty Blach tossed seven strong innings, and Colorado beat Cleveland in Denver.
The Rockies took two of three games from Cleveland, which came to Coors Field riding a nine-game winning streak. Brenton Doyle finished with two of the nine hits for Colorado.
Josh Naylor and Brayan Rocchio had two hits apiece for Cleveland. Guardians starter Logan Allen was roughed up for seven runs on six hits in just 1 2/3 innings.
Blue Jays 3, White Sox 1
Trevor Richards delivered 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief in a combined four-hitter and Isiah Kiner-Falefa drove in two runs as visiting Toronto blanked skidding Chicago.
The Blue Jays earned a three-game sweep while sending the White Sox to a season-worst eighth straight defeat. Chicago has lost 12 of 13.
White Sox starter Chris Flexen fell to 2-5 after allowing two runs and four hits in five innings. He walked five and struck out six.
